Countdown To The 2012 Draft
Wide Receiver Liquidation Sale!!!

This draft is as deeeeeep at the WR position as I imagine any draft has ever, or will ever be...ever. It doesn't have the elite talent at the top, Justin Blackmon would probably be drafted after last year's Julio Jones and A.J. Green. What this draft does have is the mid round prospects who are a great slot receiver, or a tall red zone target, etc. I would be very upset if the Jets don't draft a WR at some point in this draft. There are simply too many solid prospects available in the middle rounds to pass on this opportunity.

For the sake of time, and because I just don't care that much, I'm going to give two word descriptions for the top 5 prospects...you all know them anyway.

For the rest of them, I have grouped them into 3 overly simplistic types of WRs, Possession, Slot, and Deep Threats. Obviously, it is all more complicated than that, but it instantly gives you a good idea of what each WR brings to the table.

Enjoy.

POSSESSION

Alshon Jeffery - 6'3" 215 - Fatty has some of the best ball skills in the draft. He can go up and get it with the best of them. Unfortunately, his speed sucks and he will have trouble creating separation at the next level. He is a good, not great route runner...and with his size and lack of suddeness this will likely always be the case. Jeffery could be a good compliment to Holmes and Kerley's shiftiness, and some teams might look at converting him to TE.

Marvin Jones - 6'2" 200 - Understands the game, does the little things well. Jones has quick little feet and short area quickness that he uses to get around defenders and make them miss. He has great hands, but also lets some balls get into his body he shouldn't...that being said he doesn't really drop any so it's hard to critique. He can use his size and leaping ability to win some deep jump balls, but he isn't a speedster and will make his living running the short-intermediate routes. Bonus: His name will roll nice and easy of the tongues of Jets fans.

Nick Toon - 6'2" 215 - Son of Jet great Al Toon, Nick's career probably won't be as celebrated. A solid prospect none the less, he is a crafty route runner, and uses his size well to box out defenders. Toon is oft-injured though, and his bruiser style doesn't do him any favors in this department. He is also a solid blocker, albeit not as good as his size would indicate. Bonus: Photo is of Toon catching the ball over former Jet camp fodder Donavan Warren.

Marvin McNutt - 6'3" 215 - See: http://nyjetsfan.com...showtopic=36432 . Sorry, told you I was lazy. One other thing, he is supposedly a great leader and hard worker, receiving several team awards. Bonus: Deep pass catch phrase for Marvin could be, "Busting a McNutt wide open!"

SLOT

Ryan Broyles - 5'10" 190 - The all time NCAA leader in receptions (#2 in yards) unfortunately tore his ACL midway through his senior season. Broyles is your prototypical slot receiver: good routes, qood lateral quickness, good hands. Broyles was never a burner, but he still has to hope his speed isn't too affected by the ACL tear. He hasn't worked out yet due to the injury, but has a pro day scheduled. That workout will go a long way in determining his draft stock. With a good workout he could see the end of the second round, with a sub par workout teams will be afraid of his recovery and that could push him down to the later rounds.

A.J. Jenkins - 6'0" 190 - Jenkins does everything well. He is a smooth athlete that can create separation with quickness, but can get pushed around a bit due to his smaller size. A solid hands catcher, Jenkins is also tough enough to work the middle and secure the ball while taking a hit. Jenkins has been very productive, catching 90 passes for 1,276 yards and 8 TDs this past season. The only question to me, and the only thing keeping him from being considered a much better prospect (other than his lack of size), is that some question his effort. He seems to take off plays and give inconsistent effort. Note: I've slotted Jenkins with the slot WR's mainly due to his size and shifty route running, but he has the speed to threaten deep.

Devon Wylie - 5'9" 185 - Wylie is another prototypical slot receiver, only with great speed, as he blazed a 4.39 at the combine. The problem for Wylie isn't his ability, it's his inability to stay healthy. He has missed time in 2008, 2009, and all of 2010 due to injury. He is also a shorter, smaller wide receiver. But, Wylie is a naturally gifted route runner (though he could use some polish in this area), has great hands, and can threaten any point on the field (screen, middle, deep, etc). Bonus: Return skills.

T.Y. Hilton - 5'9" 185 - Another of your small but fast slot guys. Unfortunately, I think T.Y. Hilton used his superior athleticism to run around lesser opponents playing for Florida International. He does have a good burst, and was an exceptional return man in college...but he will need a bit of coaching and polish and will likely never be more than a special teamer and occasional gadget player. Perhaps I should have grouped Hilton with the deep threats, but due to his size I think he will need to develop his short-intermediate routes to be successful in the NFL.

DEEP THREATS

Tommy Streeter - 6'5" 220 - A one year wonder, it's very hard to judge Streeter's pro potential. He has a great combination of height and speed, posting a 4.4 at 6'-5". Streeter's senior year saw him become a lethal deep threat, but he still lacks the technical skills of a WR. His one year wonder could be due to a lot things, mainly the change in coaching staff this past season, but it is still a big red flag. I think Streeter is a solid value in the 5th or 6th round, but could possibly go much earlier and therefore probably not worth it in a draft this deep at WR.

Travis Benjamin 5'11" 175 - A true big play threat (and skinny bitch), the hope is Benjamin could be like DeSean Jackson...the reality is probably a lot less. Benjamin has true speed, clocked at 4.36 at the combine, and unlike a lot of players also plays up to that speed in games. He has the athleticism to run great routes, but for now we'll call him a "solid" route runner with room for improvement. He is willing to go over the middle, but isn't overly effective here. Benjamin's biggest obstacle is his hands...he lets the ball into his body way too often, but he can track and adjust well to the ball in the air. Bonus: Excellent return man. Double Bonus: Killer Dreads.

McNutt and Marvin Jones are two of my favorite under the radar receivers in the draft.

Think you have Hill rated way too high, though.

Yeah completely agree on Hill, not a fan of him. I suppose I should have used the word 'consensus' top 5. This doesn't really represent my rankings. Quite frankly I don't really ever try to rank players...it's too uniform a system to use for a very diverse question. Is player A really better than player B? They offer different abilities with different levels of risk/reward, so how can you really rank them?

Yeah completely agree on Hill, not a fan of him. I suppose I should have used the word 'consensus' top 5. This doesn't really represent my rankings. Quite frankly I don't really ever try to rank players...it's too uniform a system to use for a very diverse question. Is player A really better than player B? They offer different abilities with different levels of risk/reward, so how can you really rank them?

PS - Love Marvin Jones, too.

Cheers. I'm mostly the same way with my rankings, and mock and things. I do it all according to my plan, not what will happen.

Great stuff hurricane. you werent lazy at all btw, even just the little info you got on every person im sure took some time and dedication and you went over a good amount of prospects really nice stuff.

P.S. i was gunna ask you about tommy streeter because i stumbled over a highlight video of him yesterday and wanted your thoughts, but i look today and i see that question is already answered. Real good stuff bro.

I want a big WR opposite of Holmes, I think Kerley will be a quality slot receiver for us so we need a #2 guy. Floyd and Blackmon aren't falling to us, I am intrigued by the talent Hill has but little production.

I would be interested in grabbing Alshon Jeffery round 2, just hope that he doesn't blow up again. He ran a 4.48 at his proday. He would give a big target for our inaccurate QBs. I would be worried about going with a smaller WR because all our receivers will be shorter guys for a inaccurate QB. Besides Schilens and Turner but they are 4th and 5th guys. I think a 6'3 WR would be ideal for our #2 spot, especially could help in redzone situations.

I really want stephen hill. He looked so impressive in all the drills. I think he could be huge for us. We could draft 2 WRs and i would love to see nick toon in a jets jersey for obvious reasons. if we can grab toon and hill we'd be set at WR with them kerly schillens and holmes

I really want stephen hill. He looked so impressive in all the drills. I think he could be huge for us. We could draft 2 WRs and i would love to see nick toon in a jets jersey for obvious reasons. if we can grab toon and hill we'd be set at WR with them kerly schillens and holmes

2 WR picks in the first 4 rounds?

You have an ungoldy fetish with Hill after just watching him in spandex working out.

You have an ungoldy fetish with Hill after just watching him in spandex working out.

yeah we could use it. its a major need. but i'm ok not getting toon. Just like the idea of a Jets legend having his son play for the jets. right now we have only 1 WR sthats worthy of starting and thats holmes. kerly I think is a good slot guy but I wouldn't make him a starter yet. He's better off being the #3 WR. I don't think schillens is anything great so he should be the 4. Who will be the #2? we could bring back braylon thats all I see out there. I think hill can start from day 1 for us though. I'd take him in the second if we can and take OLB in the 1st and RT in the 3rd

And yeah hill is my man crush right now for sure. We need him in jet green

A team that just signed Tim Tebow and is supposedly all about the run run run isn't going to be drafting a WR in the first 2 rounds, let alone 2 in the top of the draft. This is a great write up. I want the guy with the dreds. Maybe we can convert him to FS.

We don't need 2 WRs, we are going to be a run team. Just pick a WR high to be the #2 WR and we'll be fine.

we don't need 2 of them, I'm just saying i'd like to have toon on the team for fan reasons. not saying we should draft him. I still stick by my original mock of
Draft
1st upshaw or ingram or mercilus (OLB) whichever one is available
2nd Stephen Hill (WR)
3rd Bobbie Massie (RT)
4th Safety
5th TE
6th O-line
7th WR

we don't need 2 of them, I'm just saying i'd like to have toon on the team for fan reasons. not saying we should draft him. I still stick by my original mock of
Draft
1st upshaw or ingram or mercilus (OLB) whichever one is available
2nd Stephen Hill (WR)
3rd Bobbie Massie (RT)
4th Safety
5th TE
6th O-line
7th WR

I thInk regardless of how you feel about Stephen Hill, with so many holes and a draft so deep at WR...it probably isn't the best idea to draft a WR so early.

I understand but we need a stud WR. when was the last time we had one? we could get a good one later on but i'd really like a stud one. still I wouldn't be disappointed if we went OLB in the 1st and 2nd

I understand but we need a stud WR. when was the last time we had one? we could get a good one later on but i'd really like a stud one. still I wouldn't be disappointed if we went OLB in the 1st and 2nd

Unfortunately the Jets are paying Santonio Holmes to be that stud...whether he is or not. Plus, Stephen Hill is hardly a guaranteed stud prospect. The Jets have too many holes for a luxury pick like that...at least in my opinion.